84 RE.CENT BOOKS DECEMDEI\ 2 1,. 19 2, A Well-Draped Goddess-African Safari -The T/leatre-Madness and Magnificence E MIL LUDWIG'S first and only I " D " " h nove , lana, as been over ten years crossing the ..l tlan- "1 -a r tic. It was first published in Germany as two novels; "Diana" appearing in 1917, and its sequel, "The Romance of a German Prince," in 1918 long before Mr. Ludwig had even heard of Ray Long and before he had realized the full possibilities of the international market. In 1929 the author revised his work and shipped it to be translated by the faithful Eden and Cedar Paul. "Diana," then, is not by the author of "Napoleon." It is the romantic work of an able and ambitious journalist writing for an excl usivel y Germanic audience; not a novel to make a quick reputation, but not, on the other hand, one to destroy a reputation as securely entrenched as Mr. Ludwig's. The novel, however, remains a work of secondary or, rather, derivative interest; you may read it and like it, you may pass it up and not miss much of first literary importance. To me the greatest weakness of the book is Diana hersel f. Mr. Ludwig has asked you to see her as a Grecian goddess in a modern world; a woman free, beautiful, and independent; a woman of brain, and with her instincts un- trammelled by any con ventional edu- cation; a woman whose eroticism is entirely natural, and free from the con viction of either moral sin or social Inisdemeanor. Diana moves graceful- ly and brilliantly through the aristo- cratic and diplomatic circles of Central Europe before the war, like a mytho- logical figure. This is an arresting outline of a heroine, a study in neo-paganism, but to me Diana is too In uch like those Teutonic Grecians that decorate so profusel y German palaces and gardens. Mr. Ludwig has overwritten his god- dess, draped her too la vishl y with ad- jectives and phrases, overcn1phasized her shining qualities. In fact, the lady is a little dull in her perfection. Mr. Ludwig is far l110re successful with his Inen. The gallant, unhappy ambassador, the intelligent prince, the \vise pu blisher, Scherer, all these arc as valid as figures from one of Ludwig's biographies. His background, too, of an aristocratic, slightly decadent Kultur ,"*. ";" .. <z::... t>;':- ..... ... -z [' : :': J J: ' . ,"' , ,=- ,} , , W ,,*, ø .... \, i" :J (f l '" .1>',1, '\" , -;\. 'k : 7: ;;, -'. I " ,i "h 'J<.,; :,",," ,,,;\ \ ,, ,{ tk, W ,: : ! !/ . '- ) '1...._ 9.' '<-. , $tLx',; '.: \' n,% 'ft 1 . .< . \ '.' " "'1t '1 f L't- /t., t , ,,:' ; &\ < --" ',; __' ' "l \ -: \, r {i ì ' ,t\:n:lt '} It\.", /\. . ' < . " \ \'i;; . , f' ,( \ I ,. 1 '-, } ,,->>+ , [' \ , . . :' /-l'.:; /\\ áf'1 ,;, } '\.\ J ' .'i "':, '" :Po' ','t , , <i,' ..:" J'J'tf : : ." "Ox ..... E .".. .. 'J' ;c.:" ......::yv- ": .."; ..... . :7': " 1 0:", J\ '''' '' " ,<- - , - j 1 ' %' - -%, ' J ) , ;, - '''' , ß,,:ft - ,-, ---= , i ,{' ,/- " }i " '- I ' ! . >, : _ w --. " í " p k::" ::' æ ( -,.t ",,> < / ' ::;;:: t:cA L ' \ U( / ' J - ",", , ' \ - ",,' dJi '7: t7"' . '$; ." .:t .::;::- ." ..... _..... r" J' . ...... v v". H p-- ,:C*' "/; -' :' ' , '0< ": ,_' j{ /Jl <,; t .,*Jt) i';11 ':}Þ t{:' J I "":.<- . ' iP'. , . rl . , ; . ; . ' . :' . > !' 7, ,;/f }L \ I' 4 . F' . .', ., '., "ii' 1 r :- :"':"'-"':'" . , t f " ,,{ '1ft ;,n 'fi i ',. . t..,,!f " . 1 ;;, :f" i W1" " 1(/í" ...'t ,Ü1. t .' ,;w -L - 1 ,- . . _ , . _!,;",}7tp,";;; .. '.. : , nÞli "SO(;.I . . _,' -. ..",O\.y .,: 2 ;:t;:, ; ; J7 , has great clarity; this almost in spite of much stilted writing and more than a touch of intellectual preen- ing. Mr. Ludwig's characters, even in momen ts of emotional intimacy, talk of Near-East politics, Phoenician glassware, and astronomy. There is quite a parade of erudition all through the novel, to remind you that you are moving in cultured circles, and don't you forget it. You feel that an artist should be able to convey the impression of civilized and intelligent minds with- out the use of such a dazzling array of encyclopedic data. Brains are brains, and evident as such, even in monosyl- lables. These flings of Kultur spoiled the essential sincerity of "Diana" for me, just as too much gab about "the sporting thing" in variably sours me on an English novel. T HREE books on Africa and three books on the theatre for those ((Er-I'l1Z looking for l1tY wife." whose minds run that way: The best of the ..l frican books is "Carl ..l ke- ley s Africa," by Mary L. J obe ..l keley, widow of the explorer. It is the story of ..l keley's last expedition for the American Museum of Natural History, and it contains a great deal of fasci- nating scien tific material, very well pre- sented. The ..l keleys, as experienced workers in Africa, see beneath the superficial wonders of the continent. The accounts of wild-animal observa- tions are remarkably fine and free from that sense of careless cruelty that so often spoils reading of this sort. Carveth Wells, exploring ..l frica for the Milwaukee Museum, evidently.' had a fine time. His book is called "In Coldest Africa," and it has a decidedly Ripley slant. Mr. Wells slept under blankets all along the Equator, and he wishes vou were with him. As the .I author himself says, he has a way of telling truths that sound like lies. What fascinated me most about the book was the account of the explorers' outfitting ^^:'",, " . ',< "-' ' '*:> Ii